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Friday, 26 June 2015

Six months after the massacre at Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead in Paris, France was hit by what looks to be another terrorist attack on Friday.

According to multiple reports, two men drove a car into the entrance of an Air Products factory in southeastern France triggering multiple explosions. A decapitated head covered in Arabic writing was pinned to the factory’s gate.

One suspect is now in custody. Some reports suggest he was carrying an ISIS false flag.

Francois Hollande will take a break from the Greek drama and fly back to France from Brussels to address the media and assess the situation. “The attack bears the hallmarks of a terrorist attack,” the French President said.

Police told French news agency AFP that a suspected Islamist attacker pinned a decapitated head covered with Arabic writing to the gates of a gas factory in eastern France on Friday, before being arrested.

One person has been killed in a suspected terror attack at a factory near Lyon in southeastern France, a local government official said Friday.

Another person is currently in police custody and is suspected of involvement in the attack, Joelle Huillier, a local politician, told CNN's French affiliate BFMTV. He is being questioned by police, she said.

A man described as a witness, whose name was given as Patrice, also told BFMTV that a group of men carrying Islamic flags forced their way into the factory, beheaded a person and targeted gas tanks.

Le Monde newspaper cited unidentified sources as saying that two individuals rammed a vehicle into the building, causing the explosion. Banners in Arabic that haven't yet been examined were found at the scene, the paper added.

The Paris prosecutor's office said its anti-terrorist section was opening an investigation into crimes related to a terrorist enterprise.

A spokeswoman for the company concerned, Air Products, confirmed there had been "an incident" on site at its Grenoble location.

Spokeswoman Nicola Long said the emergency services were at the scene. There was an explosion, she said, a a fire that has been put out.

Witnesses at the scene claimed there more than one man was involved in the attack and that the perpetrators were carrying Islamist flags.

Two men were seen driving into the main gate soon after 10am, before driving around in circles throwing gas cylinders around the main yard. One of the men then jumped out of the car, according to local prosecuting sources, and then 'decapitated a man'.

Before the attack a man was seen driving back and forth outside the factory, according to Dauphiné Libéré.

An Islamic flag – possibly that of Islamic State – was found next to the dead body. The man's head was found some 30 feet from the corpse.

French journalist Stefan Vries told Sky News: 'There was an explosion at a gas factory. Several people were wounded and there has been one person decapitated on the premises.

'His head was found a couple of yards from his body. A man has been arrested. He was allegedly carrying a flag of the Islamic State. Police fear there may be more attacks.'

Within an hour of the attack, French President Francois Hollande was to return home early from an EU summit

'He will return early this afternoon and is in constant contact with Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and the security services,' the official said, adding that he would make a statement to the press in Brussels before 1100 GMT.

And from AFP:

The suspect entered the factory and set off several small explosive devices, the source said.

Police said it was unclear whether the attacker was acting alone, or had accomplices.

“According to the initial findings of the enquiry, one or several individuals on board a vehicle, drove into the factory. An explosion then took place,” said one of the sources.

“The decapitated body of a person was found nearby the factory but we do not yet know whether the body was transported to the place or not,” added this source, adding that a “flag with Arabic writing on it was found at the scene”.

A man thought to be the person who carried out the attack has been arrested, according to sources close to the inquiry, who said he was known to the security services.

French prime minister Manuel Valls ordered increased security measures at all sensitive sites in the area.